Stabilized carbon nucleophiles aldehydes

The Mannich reaction is the prototype of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions that involve the addition of resonance-stabilized carbon nucleophiles to iminium salts and imines. In its original and most widely recognized form, the Mannich reaction consists of three components (i) ammonia, a primary amine, or a secondary amine (ii) a nonenolizable aldehyde, usually formaldehyde and (iii) an active... 

Nucleophiles used in the seminal papers by Tsuji and co-workers were mostly stabilized carbon nucleophiles, and the method found an early synthetic application in a preparation of steroids." It soon became evident that many other types of nucleophiles could be used. In particular, hydride ion equivalents led to l-olefinsf ° " (see Sect. V.2.3.1), Silyl and stannyl enolates of simple ketones and aldehydes and esters can be aUylated, as well as allyl enol carbonates (see Sect. V.2.1.4), This is an indirect a-aUylation of ketones, aldehydes, and esters. Enol derivatives can take another reaction course under Pd(0) catalysis (Scheme 2). Thus, oxidation to a,/3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds ensues if reactions are performed in acetonitrile under precise sources of catalyst precursor. "" "" A full discussion on the dichotomy of allylation-oxidation has been published, as well as a comparison of the usefulness of several transition metals as catalysts in allylation of nucleophiles. ... 

Recent advances in the stereoselective olefination of phosphorus-stabilized carbon nucleophiles have been reviewed. Applications of the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction to the synthesis of natural products have been highligted. A highly Z-selective synthesis of a, -unsaturated nitriles using the Homer-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction has been reported this involves a new nitrile reagent, (o-t-BuC6H40)2P(0)CH2CN, which reacts with various types of aldehydes with 86 to >99% Z selectivity. 

Stereodefined alkenes are ubiquitous structural motifs in many natural products and pharmaceutics, and, moreover, they serve as a foundation for a broad range of chemical transformations. Nowadays, carbonyl olefination, elimination, alkyne addition, alkenylation, and alkene metathesis constitute the most widely used methods for the stereoselective synthesis of various alkenes [1-3]. Whereas no single method provides a universal solution to stereoselective alkene synthesis, the olefination reactions of aldehydes and ketones with phosphorus-stabilized carbon nucleophiles have enjoyed widespread prominence and recognition owing to their simplicity, convenience, complete positional selectivity, and generally high levels of geometrical control [4-9]. 

This section deals with reactions that correspond to Pathway C, defined earlier (p. 64), that lead to formation of alkenes. The reactions discussed include those of phosphorus-stabilized nucleophiles (Wittig and related reactions), a a-silyl (Peterson reaction) and a-sulfonyl (Julia olefination) with aldehydes and ketones. These important rections can be used to convert a carbonyl group to an alkene by reaction with a carbon nucleophile. In each case, the addition step is followed by an elimination. 

The anions of malonate esters, cyclopentadiene, p-keto esters, ketones, aldehydes, a-nitroacetate esters, Meldrum s acid, diethylaminophosphonate Schiff bases, p-diketones, /3-sulfonyl ketones and esters, andpolyketides represent the wide variety of carbon nucleophiles effective in this reaction. Generation of the stabilized anions normally is... 

Reactivity factors in additions to carbon-hetero multiple bonds are similar to those for the tetrahedral mechanism of nucleophilic substitution. If A and/or B are electron-donating groups, rates are decreased. Electron-attracting substituents increase rates. This means that aldehydes are more reactive than ketones. Aryl groups are somewhat deactivating compared to alkyl, because of resonance that stabilizes the substrate molecule but is lost on going to the intermediate ... 

The finding that thiamine, and even simple thiazolium ring derivatives, can perform many reactions in the absence of the host apoenzyme has allowed detailed analyses of its chemistry [33, 34]. In 1958 Breslow first proposed a mechanism for thiamine catalysis to this day, this mechanism remains as the generally accepted model [35]. NMR deuterium exchange experiments were enlisted to show that the thiazolium C2-proton of thiamine was exchangeable, suggesting that a carbanion zwitterion could be formed at that center. This nucleophilic carbanion was proposed to interact with sites in the substrates. The thiazolium thus acts as an electron sink to stabilize a carbonyl carbanion generated by deprotonation of an aldehydic carbon or decarboxylation of an a-keto acid. The nucleophilic carbonyl equivalent could then react with other electro-... 

Umpolung The reversal of polarity of the carbonyl carbon atom is termed umpolung (German for polarity reversal). Normally the carbonyl carbon atom of an aldehyde (or a ketone) is partially positive i.e., electrophilic and therefore it reacts with nucleophiles. When the aldehyde is converted to a dithiane by reaction with 1,3-propanedithiol and reacted with butyl lithium the same carbon now becomes negatively charged to react with electrophiles. This reversed polarity of the carbonyl carbon is termed umpolung which increases the versatility of the carbonyl group in synthesis. The sulphur atoms stabilize... 

The most important reaction of this type is the formation of imine bonds and Schiff bases. For example, salicylaldehyde and a variety of primary amines undergo reaction to yield the related imines, which can be used as ligands in the formation of metal complexes. However, it is often more desirable to prepare such metal complexes directly by reaction of the amine and the aldehyde in the presence of the metal ion, rather than preform the imine.113 As shown in Scheme 31, imine formation is a reversible process and isolation of the metal complex results from its stability, which in turn controls the equilibrium. It is possible, and quite likely, that prior coordination of the salicylaldehyde to the metal ion results in activation of the carbonyl carbon to amine nucleophilic attack. But it would be impossible for a precoordinated amine to act as a nucleophile and consequently no kinetic template effect could be involved. Numerous macrocyclic chelate systems have been prepared by means of imine bond formation (see Section 61.1.2.1). In mechanistic terms, the whole multistep process could occur without any geometrical influence on the part of the metal ion, which could merely act to stabilize the macrocycle in complex formation. On the other hand,... 

In the first step of the conversion catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase, a carbon atom from thiamine pyrophosphate adds to the carbonyl carbon of pyruvate. Decarboxylation produces the key reactive intermediate, hydroxyethyl thiamine pyrophosphate (HETPP). As shown in figure 13.5, the ionized ylid form of HETPP is resonance-stabilized by the existence of a form without charge separation. The next enzyme, dihydrolipoyltransacetylase, catalyzes the transfer of the two-carbon moiety to lipoic acid. A nucleophilic attack by HETPP on the sulfur atom attached to carbon 8 of oxidized lipoic acid displaces the electrons of the disulfide bond to the sulfur atom attached to carbon 6. The sulfur then picks up a proton from the environment as shown in figure 13.5. This simple displacement reaction is also an oxidation-reduction reaction, in which the attacking carbon atom is oxidized from the aldehyde level in HETPP to the carboxyl level in the lipoic acid derivative. The oxidized (disulfide) form of lipoic acid is converted to the reduced (mer-capto) form. The fact that the two-carbon moiety has become an acyl group is shown more clearly after dissocia-... 

---